Six Commercial Districts

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Six Community Business Centers (CBC’s) are staggered along Richmond Highway. SFDC’s vision is for each CBC to serve as a destination center for Richmond Highway, with bike trails, sidewalks, walkways, and mass transit linking all the CBC communities together.

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North Gateway

This area is an entry point to historic Richmond Highway from points north including Washington DC, DC, Old Town Alexandria and the Capital Beltway. This prominent location features nearly 350,000 square feet of office space and is an ideal location for businesses that need quick access to both the Pentagon and the Patent and Trademark Office. The North Gateway Community Business Center is the exact midpoint between Washington D.C. and Fort Belvoir. The Huntington Metro station, one of 5 metro stations in Fairfax County prior to the completion of the Silver line, is a short walk or bus ride away on Huntington Avenue.

Penn Daw

Located less than a mile from the Huntington Metro station, this area is transitioning from a highway-oriented retail area to a hub of urban mixed-use activity. Three mixed-use developments containing about 1,000 market-rate apartment units and ground level retail, dining, and entertainment uses are planned on the sites of three existing low density commercial properties on the west side of Richmond Highway. With “The Shelby” apartments by Insight Property Group, “The Grande at Huntington” by Capital Investment Advisors, and the redevelopment of Penn Daw Plaza by Combined Properties, the Penn Daw community is gearing up for many changes in the very near future!

Groveton

This Community Business Center is at one of the highest points in the D.C metropolitan area with views of and beyond Tysons Corner and the Washington Monument. Beacon Center serves as a retail focal point for this area, especially during lunchtime! Another marker for the Groveton community is the new Beacon of Groveton, which opened in September 2012. Located just south of Beacon Center, this development includes 290 market-rate apartments and represents the first urban scale mixed-use development ever built on Richmond Highway.

Hybla Valley/Gum Springs

The Mount Vernon Plaza is the major “hub” of this Community Business Center. The plaza provides over 560,000 square feet of retail and includes many large national retailers. This CBC also features a brand new Costco that opened in August 2013.

South County/Mount Zephyr

The central feature to this area is the South County Center, which is operated by Fairfax County and provides social services to a diverse clientele. Active residential neighborhoods surround this area, and about 500 residential units are planned between the intersections of Buckman Road and Janna Lee Avenue. The area is connected to residential neighborhoods to the east via Mount Vernon Memorial Highway (Route 235).

The Woodlawn CBC boarders on Fort Belvoir and is emerging as a regional center of hospitality activity. The intersection of Richmond Highway and Mount Vernon Memorial Highway is the gateway to many historical attractions such as Woodlawn Plantation, George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate and Grist Mill, and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Pope-Leighey House. A new east-west connector route to Telegraph Road called Jeff Todd Way is under construction and scheduled to open in spring 2014. In the coming years, the National Army Museum will be located just 2 miles south of the Woodlawn area on the Fairfax County Parkway.